Printing system, management server system, and control method

ABSTRACT

A first server system includes a registration unit configured to, in a case where a request output from a management server system based on an instruction from a first user having a first authority is received, register first printer information in the first server system, and the management server system includes a control unit configured to, based on an instruction from a second user having a second authority that is a more limited authority than the first authority, execute a saving process for saving the first printer information registered in the first server system and second printer information regarding a printing apparatus registered in a second server system different from the first server system and the management server system in association with each other in a saving unit of the management server system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/404,593, filed Aug. 17, 2021, which claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application No. 2020-142846, filed Aug. 26, 2020, both of whichare hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a printing system, a management serversystem, and a printing apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

There is known a configuration in which an information processingapparatus such as a personal computer (PC) executes printing via aserver on a cloud. Specifically, the information processing apparatusissues a print request to a cloud printing service system configured onthe cloud and transmits the print request to a printing apparatusassociated with the information processing apparatus on the cloudprinting service system. In a case where a plurality of users uses asingle printing apparatus in a shared manner, it is necessary toregister the plurality of users as users of the printing apparatusregistered in the cloud printing service system. Japanese Patent No.6672596 discusses a configuration in which an administratoridentification (ID) for using a cloud printing service is held inadvance in a printing apparatus, thereby easily adding a user of theprinting apparatus on the cloud printing service system.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a printing systemincludes a first server system and a management server system. The firstserver system comprises a registration unit configured to, in a casewhere a request output from the management server system based on aninstruction from a first user having a first authority is received,register first printer information in the first server system, and themanagement server system includes a control unit configured to, based onan instruction from a second user having a second authority that is amore limited authority than the first authority, execute a savingprocess for saving the first printer information registered in the firstserver system and second printer information regarding a printingapparatus registered in a second server system different from the firstserver system and the management server system in association with eachother in a saving unit of the management server system, and a print joboutput from an information processing apparatus having received a printinstruction from the second user can be received by the printingapparatus via the first server system and the second server system, byexecuting the saving process.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus and a cloud printing service system.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the cloud printing service system.

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating examples of various pieces of settinginformation managed by a first cloud printing service.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of registering avirtual printer in the first cloud printing service.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of registering aprinting apparatus in a second cloud printing service.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of associating avirtual printer and a printer registered in the second cloud printingservice.

FIG. 8 is an example of information managed by a cloud printingmanagement service.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a printing flow via the cloudprinting management service.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the cloud printing management service.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C are diagrams illustrating a front end of thecloud printing management service.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of associating avirtual printer and a printer registered in a second cloud printingservice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In recent years, with a growing need to work at home, there is a casewhere a user wishes to use a printing apparatus of the user's home bynewly registering the printing apparatus in a cloud printing servicesystem to print a business material at home. This case applies not onlyto the cloud printing server system, and a similar case can also applyto another printing server system. Embodiments of the present disclosureare directed to providing a technique for enabling the use of a printingapparatus via a printing server system.

With reference to the attached drawings, exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described in detail below. The followingexemplary embodiments do not limit the present disclosure, and not allthe combinations of the features described in the exemplary embodimentsare essential for a method for solving the issues in the presentdisclosure. The same components are designated by the same referencenumerals, and are not repeatedly described.

<Configuration of Printing System>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing systemaccording to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Toa local area network (LAN) 102, printing apparatuses 111 and 112 areconnected. The printing apparatuses 111 and 112 are sometimes referredto as a “printing apparatus 110” collectively.

The printing apparatus 111 is a printing apparatus that supportsprinting based on the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) specification anda standard specification for cloud printing. The printing apparatus 111supports printing based on a cloud printing function based on a standardspecification for executing cloud printing, termed the IPP SharedInfrastructure Extensions (hereinafter referred to as “IPP-Infra”), asan example of the standard specification for cloud printing. On theother hand, assume that the printing apparatus 112 does not supportprinting based on the standard specification for cloud printing, butsupports a unique cloud printing service provided by a printer vendor.Although the printing apparatus 110 is described using as an example aninkjet printer that performs printing by discharging ink onto a papersurface, printing may be executed using another method (e.g., anelectrophotographic method).

To a LAN 100 constructed by an access point (AP) 101, a tablet 131, asmartphone 132, and an information processing apparatus (personalcomputer) 133 are connected. Hereinafter, the tablet 131, the smartphone132, and the information processing apparatus 133 are sometimes referredto as an “information processing apparatus 130” collectively. The LANs100 and 102 are connected to the Internet 103. To the Internet 103, afirst cloud server system (hereinafter, “first cloud printing servicesystem”) 120 is connected, which provides a printing service having amanagement function executed by an administrator on a cloud. To theInternet 103, a second cloud server system (hereinafter, “second cloudprinting service system”) 121 is also connected, which is provided bythe printer vendor and provides a printing service on the cloudavailable to a user who has purchased a printer. Additionally, to theInternet 103, a management cloud server system (hereinafter, “cloudprinting management service system”) 122 as a management server systemis connected.

The information processing apparatus 130 can communicate with the firstcloud printing service system 120, the second cloud printing servicesystem 121, and the cloud printing management service system 122 via theInternet 103. The printing apparatus 111 can communicate with the firstcloud printing service system 120 via the Internet 103. The printingapparatus 112 can communicate with the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 via the Internet 103.

The first cloud printing service system 120 supports a cloud printingfunction based on the IPP-Infra as an example of a standardspecification for a cloud printing system. The first cloud printingservice system 120 primarily saves print data based on the IPPspecification. Then, in response to a request from the printingapparatus 111 supporting cloud printing based on the IPP-Infraspecification, the first cloud printing service system 120 can transmitthe print data to the printing apparatus 111 based on the IPP-Infraspecification.

In an operating system (OS) in the information processing apparatus 130,a program termed an “IPP-Client module” capable of generating print databased on the IPP specification is provided as standard. The informationprocessing apparatus 130 can generate print data based on the IPPspecification using the IPP-Client module. If the information processingapparatus 130 transmits a print job to the first cloud printing servicesystem 120 in response to a print instruction from a user, the firstcloud printing service system 120 reserves the print job on the cloud.

If the print job is saved in the first cloud printing service system120, the printing apparatus 111, which is a printing apparatussupporting cloud printing based on the IPP-Infra specification, requeststhe print job from the first cloud printing service system 120. Theprinting apparatus 111 may periodically request the first cloud printingservice system 120 to acquire the print job. Alternatively, aconfiguration may be employed in which when the user gives aninstruction to acquire the print job on the printing apparatus 111, theprinting apparatus 111 requests the first cloud printing service system120 to acquire the print job. Yet alternatively, a configuration may beemployed in which if the print job is saved in the first cloud printingservice system 120, the first cloud printing service system 120 issuesto the printing apparatus 111 a notification indicating that the printjob is saved in the first cloud printing service system 120. In thiscase, if the printing apparatus 111 receives the notification indicatingthat the print job is saved, the printing apparatus 111 requests thefirst cloud printing service system 120 to acquire the print job.

The cloud printing service system 120 receives the request from theprinting apparatus 111 and transmits the print job reserved in the firstcloud printing service system 120 to the printing apparatus 111. In thisway, the printing apparatus 111 acquires the print job and executesprinting.

To use the first cloud printing service system 120, a user having anadministrator authority on the first cloud printing service system 120(hereinafter also referred to as an “administrator”) needs to registerthe printing apparatus 111 in the first cloud printing service system120. More specifically, by operating the printing apparatus 111 inadvance, the user executes the process of registering the printingapparatus 111 in the first cloud printing service system 120.

In the present exemplary embodiment, it is also possible to register avirtual printer in the first cloud printing service system 120. Aregistration process for registering the virtual printer will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 5.

The second cloud printing service system 121 is a cloud printing servicesystem provided by the printer vendor. The printing apparatus 112supports the unique printing service provided by the printer vendor andtherefore can receive a print job from the second cloud printing servicesystem 121. To use the second cloud printing service system 121, theuser needs to register the printing apparatus 112 in the second cloudprinting service system 121 by operating the printing apparatus 112 inadvance. In this way, the user can instruct the printing apparatus 112registered in the second cloud printing service system 121 to performprinting via the second cloud printing service system 121.

The cloud printing management service system 122 assumes the role of abridge between the first cloud printing service system 120 and thesecond cloud printing service system 121. The cloud printing managementservice system 122 requests the first cloud printing service system 120to register in the first cloud printing service system 120 a virtualprinter that behaves as a printer compatible with (supporting) the firstcloud printing service system 120. Then, the cloud printing managementservice system 122 performs a process for associating the virtualprinter registered in the first cloud printing service system 120 with aprinter (printing apparatus 112 in this case) registered in the secondcloud printing service system 121. In this way, the user can select thevirtual printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120 to give a printing instruction to the virtual printer, whereby theprinting apparatus 112 can execute printing. More specifically, thecloud printing management service system 122 acquires from the firstcloud printing service system 120 a print job received by the virtualprinter and transmits the print job to the second cloud printing servicesystem 121. Then, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmitsthe print job to the printing apparatus 112, whereby the printingapparatus 112 can perform printing.

A description is given of an example in which each of the first cloudprinting service system 120, the second cloud printing service system121, and the cloud printing management service system 122 according tothe present exemplary embodiment is composed of a single server.Alternatively, each service system may be configured to execute itsfunction by a plurality of servers on the cloud operating cooperativelywith each other. Alternatively, the service system may be a serverapparatus on a local network. The present exemplary embodiment isdescribed using the above example configuration as an example of theconfiguration of the printing system. The present disclosure, however,is not limited to this. The information processing apparatus 130, thefirst cloud printing service system 120, the second cloud printingservice system 121, the cloud printing management service system 122,and the printing apparatus 112 only need to be connected together via anetwork so that these apparatuses can communicate with each other. Thenetwork may be a wireless network or a wired network.

<Hardware Configurations of Information Processing Apparatus and CloudPrinting Service Systems>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus 133. The information processingapparatus 133 in FIG. 2 is a PC as an example of the informationprocessing apparatus 130 and includes an input interface 210, a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 211, a read-only memory (ROM) 212, a random-accessmemory (RAM) 213, an external storage device 214, an output interface215, and an input/output interface 216. To the input interface 210,input devices such as a keyboard 218 and a pointing device 217 isconnected. To the output interface 215, a display device such as adisplay unit 219 is connected.

The ROM 212 stores an initialization program. The external storagedevice 214 stores a group of application programs, an OS, and variousother types of data. The RAM 213 is used as a work memory when variousprograms stored in the external storage device 214 are executed. Theinformation processing apparatus 130 is connected to the LAN 100 via anetwork interface (I/F) 220.

The hardware configuration of each of the tablet 131, the smartphone132, the first cloud printing service system 120, the second cloudprinting service system 121, and the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 is also similar to the hardware configuration of theinformation processing apparatus 133 illustrated in FIG. 2, andtherefore is not described.

<Software Configurations of Cloud Printing Service Systems>

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the first cloud printing service system 120 accordingto the present exemplary embodiment. In the following description, eachpiece of software and each functional block may be described to performeach process, but actually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211executing a corresponding program.

The first cloud printing service system 120 includes an accountmanagement unit 301 and a cloud printing unit 302. The accountmanagement unit 301 includes an account information management unit 303and an authentication processing unit 304. The account informationmanagement unit 303 manages user information regarding a user who usesthe first cloud printing service system 120. The user information isstored in an information saving unit 305. The authentication processingunit 304 verifies the validity of an account and a password, and issuesa token indicating authority information regarding authority to accessthe first cloud printing service system 120.

The cloud printing unit 302 includes a management message processingunit 306, an IPP communication message processing unit 307, a controlapplication programming interface (API) processing unit 308, a printermanagement unit 309, and a print job processing unit 310. The managementmessage processing unit 306 receives, generates, and transmits amanagement message based on the specifications of the first cloudprinting service system 120. The IPP communication message processingunit 307 receives, generates, and transmits an IPP communicationmessage. The control API processing unit 308 receives a control API andexecutes processing based on a request or changes various settings. Theprinter management unit 309 manages a printer registered in the firstcloud printing service system 120. Various pieces of informationregarding the printer are stored in the information saving unit 305. Theprint job processing unit 310 saves and edits a print job issued to thefirst cloud printing service system 120 and received by the IPPcommunication message processing unit 307. In response to a requestinvolved in an acquisition request to acquire a print job that isreceived by the IPP communication message processing unit 307, the printjob processing unit 310 passes the print job to the IPP communicationmessage processing unit 307.

With the above configuration, the first cloud printing service system120 assumes the role of a server in cloud printing based on theIPP-Infra specification. In the first cloud printing service system 120,a plurality of printers can be registered using the printer managementunit 309. In the first cloud printing service system 120, a virtualprinter can also be registered based on a request from the cloudprinting management service system 122. The first cloud printing servicesystem 120 includes the account management unit 301 and thus functionsalso as a directory service that manages a user of a cloud service. Theaccount management unit 301 and the cloud printing unit 302 may beconfigured as separate services.

The software configuration of the second cloud printing service system121 is similar to the software configuration of the first cloud printingservice system 120 illustrated in FIG. 3. However, in a case where aprotocol used by the second cloud printing service system 121 isdifferent from that of the first cloud printing service system 120, acommunication message processing unit of the second cloud printingservice system 121 has a different configuration from that of the IPPcommunication message processing unit 307 of the first cloud printingservice system 120. Thus, the communication message processing unit ofthe second cloud printing service system 121 processes data based on theprotocol used by the second cloud printing service system 121.

<Software Configuration of Cloud Printing Management Service System>

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the cloud printing management service system 122according to the present exemplary embodiment. In the followingdescription, each piece of software and each functional block may bedescribed to perform each process, but actually, each function isachieved by the CPU 211 executing a corresponding program.

The cloud printing management service system 122 includes a first cloudprinting management unit 1001, a second cloud printing management unit1002, a front end management unit 1003, and an information saving unit1004. The first cloud printing management unit 1001 mainly performsprocessing related to the first cloud printing service system 120. Thefirst cloud printing management unit 1001 includes an authenticationprocessing unit 1011, an information acquisition processing unit 1012, avirtual printer registration processing unit 1013, and a job acquisitionprocessing unit 1014. The authentication processing unit 1011 issues anauthentication request to the first cloud printing service system 120 orrequests and acquires a token for using the first cloud printing servicesystem 120. Using the token acquired by the authentication processingunit 1011, the information acquisition processing unit 1012 acquiresinformation regarding a printer registered in the first cloud printingservice system 120. The virtual printer registration processing unit1013 receives an instruction from the administrator and causes the firstcloud printing service system 120 to register a virtual printer.Information regarding the registered virtual printer (virtual printerinformation) is saved in the information saving unit 1004. The jobacquisition processing unit 1014 acquires a print job transmitted froman information processing apparatus of the user to the first cloudprinting service system 120 and reserved in the first cloud printingservice system 120 by the user selecting the virtual printer.

The second cloud printing management unit 1002 mainly performsprocessing related to the second cloud printing service system 121. Thesecond cloud printing management unit 1002 includes an authenticationprocessing unit 1021, an information acquisition processing unit 1022, ause printer registration processing unit 1023, a data conversion unit1024, and a print job processing unit 1025. The authenticationprocessing unit 1021 issues an authentication request to the secondcloud printing service system 121 or requests and acquires a token forusing the second cloud printing service system 121. Using the tokenacquired by the authentication processing unit 1021, the informationacquisition processing unit 1022 acquires information regarding aprinter registered in the second cloud printing service system 121 fromthe second cloud printing service system 121.

The information regarding the printer is transmitted from the printerwhen a registration process for registering the printer in the secondcloud printing service system 121 is performed.

The use printer registration processing unit 1023 saves a printerregistered in the second cloud printing service system 121 (a printerthat can be used in the second cloud printing service system 121) and avirtual printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120 in association with each other in the information saving unit 1004.Information regarding the printing apparatus that can be used in thesecond cloud printing service system 121 (printer information) can beacquired from the second cloud printing service system 121 via theinformation acquisition processing unit 1022. Information indicating theassociation between the virtual printer registered in the first cloudprinting service system 120 and the use printer registered in the secondcloud printing service system 121 is saved in the information savingunit 1004. In other words, the virtual printer information regarding thevirtual printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120 and the printer information regarding the printer registered in thesecond cloud printing service system 121 are saved in association witheach other in the information saving unit 1004.

The data conversion unit 1024 converts a print job acquired from thefirst cloud printing service system 120 by the job acquisitionprocessing unit 1014 into data in a format that can be interpreted bythe second cloud printing service system 121. In other words, the dataconversion unit 1024 generates a print job with the data formatconverted. The print job processing unit 1025 transmits the print jobincluding the data converted by the data conversion unit 1024 to thesecond cloud printing service system 121. The front end management unit1003 provides control for the administrator or the user to give aninstruction to perform a desired operation, or provides a user interface(UI) for controlling the display of registration information or thestate in response to an instruction, to the administrator or the userlogged in with user authority.

With the above configuration, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 causes the first cloud printing service system 120 toregister a virtual printer. Then, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 saves information regarding the virtual printer registered inthe first cloud printing service system 120 and information regarding aprinting apparatus registered in the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 in association with each other. In this way, through thesecond cloud printing service system 121, the printer can receive andprint a print job issued to the virtual printer in the first cloudprinting service system 120 by the user.

<Information Managed by Cloud Printing Service>

FIG. 4 is a table schematically illustrating an example of typicalinformation among various pieces of setting information managed by thefirst cloud printing service system 120 according to the presentexemplary embodiment. The first cloud printing service system 120 isconfigured to be used by a group such as a plurality of companies and isconfigured so that a certain company cannot view information regardinganother company. A single group is referred to as a “tenant(directory)”. FIG. 4 illustrates setting information regarding a tenantwith the name “XYCompany”.

A setting 401 is an administrator name and stores, as a correspondingvalue, user identification (ID) with an administrator authority havingauthority to change various settings of this tenant. As the value of theadministrator name, a plurality of user IDs may be stored. Theadministrator authority indicates a user who permits the registration ofa printing apparatus in the first cloud printing service system 120, anda user having the administrator authority is sometimes referred to as an“administrator”. A user authority is more limited authority than theadministrator authority. For example, settings that can be changed bythe administrator authority (e.g., the values of settings 404, 405, and406) cannot be changed by the user authority.

In the tenant illustrated in FIG. 4, two printers, i.e., a printer withthe name “Printer 1” and a printer with the name “Printer 2”, areregistered. A “printer” as used herein is a virtual printer registeredin the first cloud printing service system 120, and a print job based ona print request issued by the user specifying the virtual printer isaccumulated in the corresponding virtual printer. Then, if anacquisition request to acquire the print job is received from the cloudprinting management service system 122, the virtual printer transmitsthe print job, and the print job is deleted from the virtual printer. Inthe first cloud printing service system 120, not only a virtual printerbut also a printer (printing apparatus 111) supporting the first cloudprinting service system 120 can be registered. In other words,information regarding the printing apparatus 111 can be registered inthe first cloud printing service system 120, and the first cloudprinting service system 120 can transmit a print job to the printingapparatus 111.

In the first cloud printing service system 120, three or more printerscan also be registered. In this case, as many pieces of information asthe number of registered printers are stored. A setting 402 is a printername and stores the name of a printer as a corresponding value. Asetting 403 is a device ID and stores an ID uniquely identifying theprinter as a corresponding value. A setting 404 is a shared setting, anda value indicating whether the registered printer is in a state wherethe registered printer can be used by another user (shared state) isset. A setting 405 is initial settings and indicates print settings in adefault state when printing is performed using this printer in the firstcloud printing service system 120. These print settings can be changedby a user having the administrator authority.

A setting 406 indicates a user who can use the registered printer, andindicates a user who can use the printer registered in the first cloudprinting service system 120. In this case, two users (users having theuser authority) with the names “UserA” and “UserB” are registered.Alternatively, three or more users may be registered. The values of thesettings 404, 405, and 406 can be changed by the administrator. Asetting 407 is a value indicating the printer capability and stores, ascorresponding values, print settings that can be specified in theprinter and the setting values of the print settings. A setting 408indicates the printer status and stores, as a corresponding value, thecurrent status of an actual printing apparatus associated withinformation regarding the registered printer.

Thus, this status changes based on the state of the actual printingapparatus associated with the registered printer.

As described above, in the first cloud printing service system 120, itis possible to register one or more printers. Further, it is possible toset a user who can use each printer.

<Sequence of Registering Virtual Printer in First Cloud Printing ServiceSystem>

A description is given of a method for registering a virtual printer inthe first cloud printing service system 120. FIG. 5 is a sequencediagram illustrating a flow of registering a virtual printer in thefirst cloud printing service system 120 according to the presentexemplary embodiment. In the following description, each piece ofsoftware and each functional block may be described to perform eachprocess, but actually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211executing a corresponding program. In FIG. 5, an information processingapparatus of the administrator is any of the apparatuses included in theinformation processing apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

In step S501, based on an instruction from the administrator, theinformation processing apparatus of the administrator makes a loginrequest to the cloud printing management service system 122. The cloudprinting management service system 122 according to the presentexemplary embodiment requires authentication by the first cloud printingservice system 120 for a login. To this end, in step S502, the cloudprinting management service system 122 issues an authentication requestto the first cloud printing service system 120.

In step S503, the first cloud printing service system 120 transmitsinformation regarding an authentication screen of the first cloudprinting service system 120 to the information processing apparatus ofthe administrator, and the authentication screen is displayed on theinformation processing apparatus of the administrator.

In step S504, the administrator inputs a user ID and a password of anaccount having the administrator authority on the first cloud printingservice system 120 as authentication information, and the authenticationinformation is transmitted to the first cloud printing service system120.

In step S505, the first cloud printing service system 120 verifies theinput authentication information and determines whether theauthentication information is authentication information regarding theaccount having the administrator authority on the first cloud printingservice system 120. As a result of the determination, if theauthentication information is authenticated, the first cloud printingservice system 120 notifies the cloud printing management service system122 that the authentication information is authenticated.

In step S506, based on the reception of the authentication notification,the cloud printing management service system 122 transmits informationregarding a management screen for the administrator to the informationprocessing apparatus of the administrator. The management screen isdisplayed on the information processing apparatus of the administrator.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a management screen1101 provided by the cloud printing management service system 122.Through the management screen, the administrator can confirm and deletea virtual printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120 or newly register a virtual printer. The administrator inputs to atext box 1111 the printer name of a virtual printer to be newlyregistered and presses a button 1112, and thereby can register the newvirtual printer.

In step S507, a registration instruction to register a virtual printerin the first cloud printing service system 120 that is input to themanagement screen 1101 is transmitted to the cloud printing managementservice system 122.

In step S508, the cloud printing management service system 122 havingreceived the registration instruction makes a registration request toregister the virtual printer to the first cloud printing service system120.

The registration request includes information such as the printer name(setting 402) and the device ID (setting 403). These pieces ofinformation are specified by the administrator when the administratorgives the registration instruction. However, the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 may determine these pieces of informationwithout specifying the administrator. To register the printer in thefirst cloud printing service system 120, authentication by a user havingthe registration authority (i.e., a user having the administratorauthority) is required. Thus, in step S509, the first cloud printingservice system 120 transmits a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to be usedto access an authentication page as a response to the registrationrequest in step S508.

In step S510, the cloud printing management service system 122 redirectsto the first cloud printing service system 120 so that the administratorhaving given the registration instruction performs the authentication onthe first cloud printing service system 120. Then, in step S511, thefirst cloud printing service system 120 transmits information regardingan authentication screen to the information processing apparatus of theadministrator, and the authentication screen is displayed on theinformation processing apparatus of the administrator.

In step S512, the administrator inputs a user ID and a password of anaccount having the administrator authority on the first cloud printingservice system 120 as authentication information to the authenticationscreen, and the authentication information is transmitted to the firstcloud printing service system 120. The first cloud printing servicesystem 120 verifies the validity of the user ID and the password inputby the administrator and verifies whether the user ID corresponds to theadministrator authority having the registration authority.

As a result, if the authentication information is authenticated, thefirst cloud printing service system 120 registers the printer that thefirst cloud printing service system 120 is requested to register. Morespecifically, the first cloud printing service system 120 registersinformation regarding the virtual printer (printer information) forwhich the cloud printing management service system 122 has made theregistration request to the first cloud printing service system 120. Inthis case, a configuration is employed in which authentication isperformed again in steps S511 and S512 to register the printer. However,if the authentication for registering the printer can be substituted bythe authentication step in steps S502 to S505, a configuration is alsopossible in which the authentication step in steps S511 and S512 can beomitted.

If the registration of the printer is completed, then in step S513, thefirst cloud printing service system 120 notifies the cloud printingmanagement service system 122, which has made the request, ofinformation indicating that the registration is completed. The cloudprinting management service system 122 receives the notification fromthe first cloud printing service system 120. Then, in step S514, thecloud printing management service system 122 saves information regardingthe registered virtual printer. The information to be saved will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 8.

Finally, in step S515, the cloud printing management service system 122transmits, to the information processing apparatus of the administrator,information indicating that the registration is completed. Theinformation processing apparatus of the administrator receives thisinformation and notifies the administrator that the registration iscompleted. As the notification method, a method for performing, on apage displayed on the cloud printing management service system 122,display indicating that the registration is completed is possible.However, it is not limited to this.

By the flow described above, based on a request from the cloud printingmanagement service system 122, a virtual printer simulating a printersupporting the first cloud printing service system 120 is registered inthe first cloud printing service system 120. The administrator accessesthe first cloud printing service system 120 and thereby can set a userwho can use the registered virtual printer (setting 406 in FIG. 4). Auser registered as the user who can use the registered virtual printerby the administrator logs into the first cloud printing service system120 with an account having the user authority registered in the firstcloud printing service system 120 and is authenticated, and thereby canmake a printing request to the virtual printer.

A virtual printer to be registered by the administrator does not need tobe a single virtual printer. As indicated by the printer capability(setting 407) in FIG. 4, functions available in a registered virtualprinter are registered. All users who use the same virtual printer canmake print settings in the ranges of the registered functions. On theother hand, the functions of printing apparatuses used by the usersdiffer depending on the models, and therefore, there is a possibilitythat the functions of each model cannot be used due to the use of thecommon virtual printer. For example, in a case where there are a printerhaving a two-sided printing function and a printer without the two-sidedprinting function, and if only functions available in all the printerscan be set for the virtual printer, the two-sided printing functioncannot be used even in the printer having the two-sided function. Theadministrator can also register all the assumed functions so that allthe assumed functions can be used in the virtual printer. However, inthis case, a function that cannot be used can also be set. Thus, forexample, the administrator may register two virtual printers, i.e., avirtual printer for which two-sided printing can be set and a virtualprinter for which two-sided printing cannot be set, and the user mayswitch which of the virtual printers is to be used depending on theprinting apparatus owned by the user. Further, the administrator canalso register in advance virtual printers for respective users or asmany virtual printers as the number of printing apparatuses to beassociated.

<Sequence of Registering Printing Apparatus in Second Cloud PrintingService System>

Next, a description is given of a method for registering a printingapparatus in the second cloud printing service system 121. FIG. 6 is asequence diagram illustrating a flow of registering a printing apparatusin the second cloud printing service system 121 according to the presentexemplary embodiment. In the following description, each piece ofsoftware and each functional block may described to perform eachprocess, but actually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211executing a corresponding program. In FIG. 6, an information processingapparatus of the user is any of the apparatuses included in theinformation processing apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

In step S601, by operating the printing apparatus 112, the user gives aninstruction to register the printing apparatus 112 in the second cloudprinting service system 121. The printing apparatus 112 receives theinstruction from the user. Then, in step S602, the printing apparatus112 accesses the second cloud printing service system 121 and makes aregistration request.

In step S603, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits aURL to be used to access an authentication page to the printingapparatus 112. In step S604, the printing apparatus 112 transmits theURL to the information processing apparatus of the user. Although adescription is given of a method in which the printing apparatus 112notifies the information processing apparatus of the user of the URL,the notification method is not limited to this. For example, theprinting apparatus 112 may display this URL on a display unit includedin the printing apparatus 112, thereby notifying the user of the URL.Alternatively, the printing apparatus 112 may print the URL, therebynotifying the user of the URL. In a case where the printing apparatus112 includes a web browser, the printing apparatus 112 may display onthe display unit an authentication screen as a page at the notified URL.In this case, the user can also input authentication information to theauthentication screen displayed on the display unit of the printingapparatus 112. In other words, the processes of step S605 and thesubsequent steps performed by the information processing apparatus ofthe user can also be performed by the printing apparatus 112.

In step S605, based on the notified URL, the information processingapparatus of the user accesses the authentication page of the secondcloud printing service system 121. In step S606, the second cloudprinting service system 121 displays the authentication page(authentication screen) to the user. In case that the user does not havean account on the second cloud printing service system 121, it isdesirable that a link to account creation is provided on theauthentication screen displayed on the second cloud printing servicesystem 121. In step S607, the user inputs a user ID and a password of anaccount on the second cloud printing service system 121 asauthentication information.

In step S607, the second cloud printing service system 121 verifies theinput authentication information. As a result, if the authenticationinformation is authenticated, the second cloud printing service system121 registers the printing apparatus 112 that the second cloud printingservice system 121 is requested to register. In other words, the secondcloud printing service system 121 registers information regarding theprinting apparatus 112 (printer information) for which the registrationrequest has been made to the second cloud printing service system 121.

If the registration is completed, then in step S608, the second cloudprinting service system 121 notifies the printing apparatus 112 ofinformation indicating that the registration is completed. In step S609,the printing apparatus 112 notifies the user that the registration iscompleted. Although the user is notified of the information bydisplaying the information on the information processing apparatus ofthe user, as the notification method, the user may be notified of theinformation by displaying the information on the display unit includedin the printing apparatus 112.

By the flow described above, the user logs into the second cloudprinting service system 121 with an account registered in the secondcloud printing service system 121 and is authenticated, and thereby cangive a printing instruction to the printing apparatus 112 via the secondcloud printing service system 121.

<Flow of Registering Printing Apparatus in Cloud Printing ManagementService>

Next, a description is given of a method for associating a virtualprinter registered in the first cloud printing service system 120 basedon a request from the cloud printing management service system 122, anda printing apparatus registered in the second cloud printing servicesystem 121. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow ofassociating a printing apparatus registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121 with a virtual printer registered in the first cloudprinting service system 120. In the following description, each piece ofsoftware and each functional block may be described to perform eachprocess, but actually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211executing a corresponding program. In FIG. 7, the information processingapparatus of the user is any of the apparatuses included in theinformation processing apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

In step S701, based on an instruction from the user, the informationprocessing apparatus of the user makes a login request to the cloudprinting management service system 122. The cloud printing managementservice system 122 according to the present exemplary embodiment needsauthentication by the first cloud printing service system 120 for alogin. To this end, in step S702, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 issues an authentication request to the first cloud printingservice system 120.

In step S703, the first cloud printing service system 120 transmitsinformation regarding an authentication screen of the first cloudprinting service system 120 to the information processing apparatus ofthe user, and the authentication screen is displayed on the informationprocessing apparatus of the user.

In step S704, the user inputs user ID and a password of an accountregistered in the first cloud printing service system 120 asauthentication information, and the authentication information istransmitted to the first cloud printing service system 120.

In step S705, the first cloud printing service system 120 verifies theinput authentication information and determines whether theauthentication information is authentication information of the accountregistered in the first cloud printing service system 120. As a resultof the determination, if the authentication information isauthenticated, the first cloud printing service system 120 notifies thecloud printing management service system 122 of information indicatingthat the authentication information is authenticated.

In step S706, the cloud printing management service system 122 issues tothe first cloud printing service system 120 a request to generate atoken required to access a resource of the first cloud printing servicesystem 120. In step S707, the first cloud printing service system 120transmits to the cloud printing management service system 122 a tokenincluding authority information regarding authority given to the user IDinput in step S704. Then, in step S708, using the acquired token, thecloud printing management service system 122 inquires of the first cloudprinting service system 120 about registered printers that can be usedby the user.

In step S709, the first cloud printing service system 120 transmits, tothe cloud printing management service system 122, information regardingprinters that can be used with the authenticated user ID among printersregistered in the first cloud printing service system 120. Theinformation regarding the printers to be transmitted may include notonly information regarding a virtual printer registered in the firstcloud printing service system 120, but also information regarding aphysical printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120. The physical printer registered in the first cloud printing servicesystem 120 refers to, for example, the printing apparatus 111 supportingthe first cloud printing service system 120.

In step S710, the cloud printing management service system 122 extractsinformation regarding virtual printers registered based on requests fromthe cloud printing management service system 122 from among the piecesof information acquired in step S709 regarding the printers that can beused. In this way, printers that can be used by the user via the cloudprinting management service system 122 are determined. In step S711,based on the information determined in step S710, the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 presents to the user the printers that canbe used. More specifically, the cloud printing management service system122 transmits, to the information processing apparatus of the user,information of a user menu screen in which the printers that can be usedare displayed.

FIG. 11B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a user menuscreen 1102 provided by the cloud printing management service system122. Through the user menu screen 1102, the user can confirm a printerthat can be used by the user among virtual printers registered in thefirst cloud printing service system 120 by the administrator. FIG. 11Billustrates a state where two virtual printers are registered. A printbutton 1122 displayed next to each printer name is an item for giving aprint instruction. After the processing in FIG. 7 is completed, and ifthe print button 1122 is pressed, this triggers the acquisition of aprint job present in the first cloud printing service system 120 by thecloud printing management service system 122 and the transmission of theprint job to the second cloud printing service system 121. An editbutton 1121 is an item for newly registering or editing a printer to beassociated with the virtual printer. FIG. 11C to be described belowillustrates a screen displayed by pressing the edit button 1121 in FIG.11B. A description is given below of a case where the edit button 1121is pressed on the user menu screen 1102 in FIG. 11B. The edit button1121 corresponds to a user instruction to associate a virtual printerthat can be used in the first cloud printing service system 120 and aprinter registered in the second cloud printing service system 121.

In step S712, based on a user instruction, the information processingapparatus of the user instructs the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 to register the association of a use printer. The “useprinter” refers to a printer registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121. To access the second cloud printing service system121, the user needs to be authenticated by the second cloud printingservice system 121. To this end, in step S713, the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 issues an authentication request to thesecond cloud printing service system 121.

In step S714, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmitsinformation regarding an authentication screen to the informationprocessing apparatus of the user, and the authentication screen isdisplayed on the information processing apparatus of the user. In stepS715, the user inputs a user ID and a password of an account registeredin the second cloud printing service system 121 as authenticationinformation.

The second cloud printing service system 121 verifies the inputauthentication information input in step S715, and determines whetherthe authentication information is authentication information regardingthe account registered in the second cloud printing service system 121.As a result of the determination, if the authentication information isauthenticated, then in step S716, the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 notifies the cloud printing management service system 122,which has made the request, that the authentication information isauthenticated.

In step S717, the cloud printing management service system 122 issues tothe second cloud printing service system 121 a request to generate atoken for accessing a resource of the second cloud printing servicesystem 121.

In step S718, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits tothe cloud printing management service system 122 a token includingauthority information regarding authority given to the user ID input instep S715. Then, in step S719, using the acquired token, the cloudprinting management service system 122 inquires of the second cloudprinting service system 121 about printers registered in the secondcloud printing service system 121 that can be used by the user.

In step S720, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits, tothe cloud printing management service system 122, information regardingprinters that can be used. In this way, in step S721, the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 can present printers registered in thesecond cloud printing service system 121 by the user. More specifically,the cloud printing management service system 122 transmits, to theinformation processing apparatus of the user, information regarding aprinter registration screen including a list of printers registered inthe second cloud printing service system 121.

FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer registrationscreen (selection screen) 1103. On the printer registration screen 1103,printers that can be used in the second cloud printing service system121 are listed. FIG. 11C illustrates a state where two printers, i.e., a“Printer A” and a “Printer B”, are registered. These two printersindicate physical printing apparatuses supporting the second cloudprinting service system 121, such as the printing apparatus 112 inFIG. 1. The user selects a desired printer from among the listedprinters and presses an OK button 1131, thereby giving an instruction toperform a registration process for associating the selected printer withthe virtual printer registered in the first cloud printing servicesystem 120.

In step S722, the OK button 1131 is pressed in FIG. 11C, whereby theinformation processing apparatus of the user issues a registrationinstruction to the cloud printing management service system 122. In stepS723, based on a user instruction, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 executes a saving process for saving association information.By this saving process, information regarding the virtual printerregistered in the first cloud printing service system 120 andinformation regarding the printer registered in the second cloudprinting service system 121 are saved in association with each other inthe information saving unit 1004 of the cloud printing managementservice system 122. The information to be saved will be described belowwith reference to FIG. 8.

By the above flow, it is possible to associate a virtual printerregistered in the first cloud printing service system 120 via the cloudprinting management service system 122 by the administrator and aprinting apparatus registered in the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 by the user. The cloud printing management service system 122can also acquire capability information regarding the registeredprinting apparatus from the second cloud printing service system 121 andreflect the capability information on the setting (printer capability)407 of the virtual printer registered in the first cloud printingservice system 120. Particularly, in a case where the virtual printer isused by a single user, the printer capability of the virtual printer isupdated, whereby it is possible to appropriately use the ability of theprinting apparatus to be used.

<Information Managed by Cloud Printing Management Service>

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the information saved insteps S514 and S723. Virtual printer information 800 is informationindicating a virtual printer registered in the first cloud printingservice system 120 by the cloud printing management service system 122.The virtual printer information 800 includes “PrinterID” 801 and“PrinterName” 802. The “PrinterID” 801 is an ID for uniquely identifyinga printer registered in the first cloud printing service system 120. The“PrinterName” 802 is name information regarding a virtual printercorresponding to the “PrinterID” 801. The virtual printer information800 is registered in step S514 in the flow of registering a virtualprinter in the first cloud printing service system 120.

The virtual printer information 800 includes any number of pieces ofuser information 810 as sub-elements. The user information 810 includes“UserID” 811, “UsePrinterID” 812, and “UsePrinterName” 813. The “UserID”811 is an ID for uniquely identifying a user who can use the virtualprinter. The “UsePrinterID” 812 is an ID for uniquely identifying aprinter registered in the second cloud printing service system 121. The“UsePrinterName” 813 is name information regarding a printing apparatuscorresponding to the “UsePrinterID” 812. The user information 810 isregistered in step S723, which is the process of saving a printingapparatus registered in the second cloud printing service system 121 inassociation with a virtual printer registered in the first cloudprinting service system 120.

In the example of FIG. 8, the administrator registers two virtualprinters, i.e., “XYCompany Printer 1” and “XYCompany Printer 2” in thefirst cloud printing service system 120 through the cloud printingmanagement service system 122. The administrator accesses the firstcloud printing service system 120 and sets a user who can use a virtualprinter registered based on a request from the cloud printing managementservice system 122. If the administrator sets the “UserA” as a user whocan use the “XYCompany Printer 1”, the “UserA” can make a print requestto the “XYCompany Printer 1” registered in the first cloud printingservice system 120. The “UserA” can also access the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 and recognize that the “XYCompany Printer1” can be used. The “UserA” assigns the “Printer A” registered in thesecond cloud printing service system 121 to the “XYCompany Printer 1”through the cloud printing management service system 122. In this way, aprint job issued to the “XYCompany Printer 1” registered in the firstcloud printing service system 120 by the “UserA” is printed by the“Printer A” via the cloud printing management service system 122 andthrough the second cloud printing service system 121. Next a specificprinting flow will be described.

<Printing Flow via Cloud Printing Management Service>

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a printing flow via the cloudprinting management service system 122. In the following description,each piece of software and each functional block may perform eachprocess, but actually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211executing a corresponding program. In FIG. 9, the information processingapparatus of the user is any of the apparatuses included in theinformation processing apparatus 130 in FIG. 1.

First, in step S901, to use the first cloud printing service system 120,the information processing apparatus of the user issues anauthentication request to the first cloud printing service system 120based on a user instruction. The authentication may be automaticallyperformed based on information registered in advance in an operationenvironment. Alternatively, the authentication may be performed by thefirst cloud printing service system 120 providing an authenticationscreen, and the user inputting a user ID and a password of an account onthe first cloud printing service system 120 to the authenticationscreen.

In step S902, the first cloud printing service system 120 performs theauthentication according to the input authentication information. Inthis way, the user can make a print request to the first cloud printingservice system 120.

In step S903, the information processing apparatus of the user transmitsa print job to the first cloud printing service system 120. Morespecifically, on a screen of a driver function or an applicationprovided by the OS, the user selects a target printer and instructs thetarget printer to perform printing, thereby transmitting a print job.The transmitted print job is received by and accumulated in a virtualprinter in the first cloud printing service system 120.

Next, in step S904, the information processing apparatus of the useraccesses the cloud printing management service system 122 and instructsthe cloud printing management service system 122 to acquire the job.This is executed by, for example, pressing the print button 1122 of avirtual printer to which a print request has been made on the user menuscreen 1102 in FIG. 11B. In the present exemplary embodiment, aconfiguration is described in which the cloud printing managementservice system 122 acquires the job from the first cloud printingservice system 120. However, the present disclosure is not limitedthereto. A configuration may be employed in which if a print job isstored in the first cloud printing service system 120, a notification istransmitted to the cloud printing management service system 122. In thiscase, a configuration is such that, in step S904, the user does not needto give the instruction, and the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 receives a notification from the first cloud printing servicesystem 120 and acquires the print job.

To acquire the print job stored in the first cloud printing servicesystem 120, the cloud printing management service system 122 requires atoken for accessing a resource of the first cloud printing servicesystem 120. To this end, in step S905, the cloud printing managementservice system 122 transmits a request to generate the token to thefirst cloud printing service system 120. This token is used to access aregistered device. To request the token, information received when thevirtual printer is registered in the first cloud printing service system120 is required. When the registration of the virtual printer iscompleted in step S513, the first cloud printing service system 120notifies the cloud printing management service system 122 of theinformation required to generate the token. The cloud printingmanagement service system 122 saves the information required to requestthe token together with information regarding the registered virtualprinter, and thereby can request the token at a necessary timing. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the “PrinterID” 801 inFIG. 8 is used as this information. However, if there is also othernecessary information, it is desirable to save the other necessaryinformation together when the virtual printer is registered.

In step S906, the first cloud printing service system 120 transmits tothe cloud printing management service system 122 the token required toacquire the print job stored by the print request to the registeredvirtual printer. If the cloud printing management service system 122acquires the token, then in step S907, the cloud printing managementservice system 122 transmits an acquisition request to acquire the printjob to the first cloud printing service system 120. If a single virtualprinter can be used by a plurality of users, the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 adds user information to the acquisitionrequest to acquire the job, thereby acquiring only a job of a userhaving accessed the first cloud printing service system 120.

In step S908, the first cloud printing service system 120 transmits theprint job for the virtual printer supporting the token to the cloudprinting management service system 122. If the cloud printing managementservice system 122 acquires the print job, then in step S909, the cloudprinting management service system 122 converts print data of theacquired print job into a format that can be interpreted by the secondcloud printing service system 121. For example, in a case where the pagedescription language (PDL) of the print data acquired from the firstcloud printing service system 120 is Extensible Markup Language (XML)Paper Specification (XPS), it is possible that the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 converts the print data into PDF that canbe interpreted by the second cloud printing service system 121. In acase where the print data of the print job acquired from the first cloudprinting service system 120 is in a format that can be interpreted as itis by the second cloud printing service system 121, the conversion instep S909 is not necessary.

Next, in step S910, to use the second cloud printing service system 121,the cloud printing management service system 122 issues anauthentication request to the second cloud printing service system 121.The authentication may be automatically performed based on informationregistered in advance in the cloud printing management service system122. Alternatively, the second cloud printing service system 121 mayprovide an authentication screen. In this case, the authentication maybe performed by the user inputting into the authentication screen a userID and a password of an account registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121 as authentication information.

In step S911, the second cloud printing service system 121 performs theauthentication according to the authentication information. In this way,the user can perform printing using the printing apparatus 112registered via the second cloud printing service system 121.

Next, in step S912, to acquire a token required to use the second cloudprinting service system 121, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 transmits to the second cloud printing service system 121 arequest to generate the token.

In step S913, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits tothe cloud printing management service system 122 the token required tocause the printing apparatus 112 registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121 to perform printing.

If the cloud printing management service system 122 acquires the token,then in step S914, the cloud printing management service system 122transmits to the second cloud printing service system 121 the print jobthat includes the print data with the format being converted in stepS909, and that can be interpreted by the second cloud printing servicesystem 121.

If the second cloud printing service system 121 receives the print job,then in step S915, the second cloud printing service system 121generates print data in a format that can be interpreted by the printingapparatus 112. In other words, the second cloud printing service system121 converts the format of the print data into a format that can beinterpreted by the printing apparatus 112.

In step S916, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits theprint data to the printing apparatus 112. The printing apparatus 112executes printing based on the print data received from the second cloudprinting service system 121.

In the description of FIG. 9, a configuration is employed in which thesecond cloud printing service system 121 transmits print data to theprinting apparatus 112. Alternatively, a configuration may be employedin which the printing apparatus 112 periodically monitors the secondcloud printing service system 121. In this case, a configuration isemployed in which if a print job is stored in the second cloud printingservice system 121, the printing apparatus 112 acquires print data.

By the above flow, a print job for a virtual printer registered in thefirst cloud printing service system 120 is transmitted to the secondcloud printing service system 121 via the cloud printing managementservice system 122. Then, the print job is printed by the printingapparatus 112 registered in the second cloud printing service system121.

A configuration is possible in which the cloud printing managementservice system 122 transmits a job to the second cloud printing servicesystem 121, and then controls the timing of the job and notifies theuser of the status while confirming the state of the second cloudprinting service system 121. The user is notified of the state of thejob and thereby can confirm the processing situation of the job. As thenotification method for notifying the user of the status, a method fordisplaying a screen by a front end function of the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 is possible. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. In a case where a plurality of printjobs is handled, the cloud printing management service system 122 mayconfirm that the processing of the preceding job is completed by thesecond cloud printing service system 121, and then make a print requestto print the next job. In this way, it is possible to reduce load on thesecond cloud printing service system 121. Additionally, it is determinedwhether printing is successful, whereby, in a case where a chargingsystem for printing is constructed, it is also possible to correctlycharge for the result of printing.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, for example, even in acase where a printing apparatus of a user's home does not support astandard specification such as the IPP-Infra, the user can cause theprinting apparatus to execute printing via the first cloud printingservice system 120.

In the first exemplary embodiment, a configuration is employed in whichthe user registers an account of the user in advance in the second cloudprinting service system 121, and the registered account and a printingapparatus are registered in association with each other in the secondcloud printing service system 121. Then, a virtual printer registered inthe first cloud printing service system 120 and the printer registeredin the second cloud printing service system 121 in association with theaccount on the second cloud printing service system 121 are associatedwith each other.

In a second exemplary embodiment, a configuration is described in whicha printing apparatus registered in the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 is used without registering the user (registering theaccount) in the second cloud printing service system 121. A descriptionsimilar to that in the of first exemplary embodiment is omitted, andonly the differences from the first exemplary embodiment are mainlydescribed. In the present exemplary embodiment, the sequence ofregistering a printing apparatus in the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 that is described in FIG. 6 in the first exemplary embodimentis not necessary. Thus, if the sequence of registering a virtual printerin the first cloud printing service system 120 in FIG. 5 is executed,the sequence in FIG. 6 can be skipped, and a sequence in FIG. 12 can beexecuted.

With reference to FIG. 12, a description is given of a flow ofregistering a printing apparatus in the cloud printing managementservice system 122 in the configuration of the present exemplaryembodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow ofassociating a printing apparatus registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121 with a virtual printer registered in the first cloudprinting service system 120. The processes of steps S701 to S712 in FIG.12 are similar to the processes of steps S701 to S712 in FIG. 7, andtherefore are not described. In the following description, each piece ofsoftware and each functional block may perform each process, butactually, each function is achieved by the CPU 211 executing acorresponding program.

If the cloud printing management service system 122 receives theregistration instruction to register a printer in step S712, then instep S1201, the cloud printing management service system 122 requeststhe information processing apparatus 130 of the user to input aregistration code. The “registration code” refers to information issuedby the user giving an instruction to issue the registration code byoperating the printing apparatus. If the printing apparatus receives theinstruction to issue the registration code, the printing apparatusrequests the second cloud printing service system 121 to issue theregistration code. The printing apparatus notifies the second cloudprinting service system 121 of identification information uniquelyidentifying the printing apparatus itself together with the request toissue the registration code. The second cloud printing service system121 issues the registration code associated with the identificationinformation regarding the printing apparatus and transmits theregistration code to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatusnotifies the user of the registration code returned from the secondcloud printing service system 121. As the notification method, a methodfor displaying the registration code on a display included in theprinting apparatus is possible. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The second cloud printing service system 121 saves theregistration code issued by receiving the registration code request fromthe printing apparatus and uses the registration code for a registrationrequest using the registration code. The user views the notifiedregistration code and inputs the registration code into a screenprovided by the cloud printing management service system 122 anddisplayed on the information processing apparatus 130.

In step S1202, the information processing apparatus 130 transmits theregistration code input by the user to the cloud printing managementservice system 122. In step S1203, the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 makes a registration request to the second cloud printingservice system 121 using the received registration code.

The second cloud printing service system 121 compares the registrationcode received from the cloud printing management service system 122 withthe registration code saved when the registration code is issued. If theregistration codes match each other, the second cloud printing servicesystem 121 registers the printing apparatus. More specifically,information regarding the printing apparatus (the printing apparatushaving made the request to issue the registration code) is registered inthe second cloud printing service system 121.

If the registration of the printing apparatus is completed, then in stepS1204, the second cloud printing service system 121 transmits a printerID to be used in printing to the cloud printing management servicesystem 122. The printer ID is used to make a print request to theprinting apparatus identified by the identification information saved inassociation with the registration code. The cloud printing managementservice system 122 makes a print request together with the printer IDattached thereto and thereby can make a print request to the printingapparatus associated with the registration code via the second cloudprinting service system 121.

In step S1205, the cloud printing management service system 122 executesa saving process for saving association information regarding thevirtual printer and the printer ID. By this saving process, informationregarding the virtual printer registered in the first cloud printingservice system 120 and information regarding the printing apparatusregistered in the second cloud printing service system 121 are saved inassociation with each other in the information saving unit 1004 of thecloud printing management service system 122.

In the present exemplary embodiment, in a case where the registrationflow in FIG. 12 is performed, the authentication in steps S910 and S911in the printing flow in FIG. 9 is performed using information forauthentication assigned in advance to the cloud printing managementservice system 122. In this way, the user does not need to log into thesecond cloud printing service system 121 every time printing isperformed. When the cloud printing management service system 122transmits the print job in step S914, based on the information saved instep S1205, the cloud printing management service system 122 transmitsthe printer ID associated with the virtual printer to the second cloudprinting service system 121. Thus, based on the received printer ID, thesecond cloud printing service system 121 can transmit the print job tothe corresponding printing apparatus.

As described above, also in the present exemplary embodiment, even in acase where a printing apparatus does not support a standardspecification such as the IPP-Infra, it is possible to perform printingvia the first cloud printing service system 120.

In the first exemplary embodiment, according to the sequence illustratedin FIG. 6, the registration process for registering a printing apparatusin the second cloud printing service system 121 is performed in advance.Then, based on the sequence in FIG. 7, the process of associating avirtual printer registered in the first cloud printing service system120 and the printing apparatus registered in the second cloud printingservice system 121 is performed.

Generally, a user who uses a PC often performs printing from anapplication via a printer driver installed on the PC. In this case, itis possible to perform printing without using cloud printing services.Thus, it is also possible that it feels cumbersome to performregistration in the cloud printing services.

In response, in a third exemplary embodiment, a configuration isemployed in which a printer driver executes the role of the second cloudprinting service system 121 according to the first exemplary embodiment.Then, a cloud printing management application that assumes the role ofthe cloud printing management service system 122 is installed on the PCsof the administrator and the user. In this way, an effect similar tothat of the first exemplary embodiment, i.e., the execution of printingvia the first cloud printing service system 120, is obtained. Thedetails are described below.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the cloud printing managementapplication to be installed on the PCs has, as a first function, thefunction of registering a virtual printer in the first cloud printingservice system 120. More specifically, the cloud printing managementapplication installed on the information processing apparatus of theadministrator executes the function of the cloud printing managementservice system 122 in FIG. 5. In other words, the information processingapparatus of the administrator functions also as the cloud printingmanagement service system 122 in FIG. 5. In such a configuration, thecloud printing management application is notified of informationrequired to acquire a token and acquired from the first cloud printingservice system 120 when the virtual printer is registered, and theinformation is saved in the cloud printing management application.

The cloud printing management application has, as a second function, thefunction of associating a virtual printer that can be used by the userand the printer driver. More specifically, the cloud printing managementapplication installed on the information processing apparatus of theuser executes the function of the cloud printing management servicesystem 122 in FIG. 7. In other words, the information processingapparatus of the user functions also as the cloud printing managementservice system 122 in FIG. 7.

The cloud printing management application has, as a third function, thefunction of acquiring a print job from the first cloud printing servicesystem 120 and transmitting print data in a format that can beinterpreted by the printer driver associated with the first cloudprinting service system 120 to the printer driver. More specifically,the cloud printing management application installed on the informationprocessing apparatus of the user executes the function of the cloudprinting management service system 122 in FIG. 9. In other words, theinformation processing apparatus of the user functions also as the cloudprinting management service system 122 in FIG. 9. In the presentexemplary embodiment, as described above, the printer driver installedon the information processing apparatus of the user assumes the role ofthe second cloud printing service system 121. In other words, theinformation processing apparatus of the user functions also as thesecond cloud printing service system 121 in FIG. 9.

In such a configuration, the cloud printing management applicationacquires a print job from the first cloud printing service system 120and transmits the print job to the printer driver associated with thefirst cloud printing service system 120 in advance. In this way, aprinting apparatus supporting the printer driver can execute printing.

With the above configuration, also in the present exemplary embodiment,even in a case where a printing apparatus does not support a standardspecification such as the IPP-Infra, it is possible to perform printingvia the first cloud printing service system 120. The cloud printingmanagement application may be different applications for theadministrator and the user.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

The present disclosure includes not only a case where the functions ofthe above exemplary embodiments are achieved by executing a program coderead by a computer, but also a case where based on an instruction fromthe program code, an OS operating on the computer performs a part or allof actual processing, and the functions of the above-described exemplaryembodiments are achieved by the processing.

While the present disclosure includes exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplaryembodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded thebroadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications andequivalent structures and functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A printing system comprising: a first serversystem; and a management server system, the first server systemcomprising a registration unit configured to, based on an instructionfrom a user, register first information related to a first printingapparatus into the first server system, the management server systemcomprising a control unit configured to, based on an instruction from auser, store, into a storage unit, third information that is informationfor associating the first printing apparatus registered in the firstserver system with a second printing apparatus in which secondinformation is registered, the second information being informationrelated to a second server system different from the first server systemand different from the management server system, wherein a print joboutput from an information processing apparatus having received a printinstruction from the user is transmitted to the first printing apparatusvia the first server system and the second server system, based on thethird information.
 2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein,based on the third information, the management server system outputs theprint job received by the first server system to the second serversystem.
 3. The printing system according to claim 2, wherein, based theprint job received by the first server system, the management serversystem generates a print job in a different data format and outputs thegenerated print job to the second server system.
 4. The printing systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the management server system furthercomprises a first display control unit configured to, in a case wherethe first server system authenticates authentication informationregarding the use, display a management screen, and wherein, based on aninstruction given by the user on the management screen, the registrationunit of the first server system registers the first information into thefirst server system.
 5. The printing system according to claim 1,wherein the management server system further comprises an acquisitionunit configured to, in a case where the first server systemauthenticates authentication information regarding the user, acquire thefirst information registered in the first server system; and a seconddisplay control unit configured to, in a case where the second serversystem authenticates authentication information regarding the secondserver system of the user, display a selection screen for selecting aprinting apparatus that is to be registered in the second server system,and wherein the control unit stores the third information forassociating the first printing apparatus with the second printingapparatus into the storage unit in a case where the second printingapparatus is selected on the selection screen.
 6. The printing systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the second printing apparatus is a virtualprinter.
 7. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the firstinformation is registered into the first server system by usinginformation acquired from the first printing apparatus.
 8. The printingsystem according to claim 1, wherein user authority of a user who isauthorized to register the first information into the first serversystem is less limited than user authority of a user who is authorizedto give an instruction to store the third information into the storageunit in the management server system.
 9. A management server systemcomprising: a control unit configured to, based on an instruction from auser, store, into a storage unit, third information that is informationfor associating a first printing apparatus registered in a first serversystem in which first information related to the first printingapparatus is registered with a second printing apparatus in which secondinformation is registered, the second information being informationrelated to a second server system different from the first server systemand different from the management server system; wherein a print joboutput from an information processing apparatus having received a printinstruction from the user is transmitted to the first printing apparatusvia the first server system and the second server system, based on thethird information.
 10. A control method for controlling a printingsystem that includes a first server system and a management serversystem, the control method comprising: registering, by the first serversystem, based on an instruction from a user, first information relatedto a first printing apparatus into the first server system; and storing,by the management server system, based on an instruction from a user,into a storage unit, third information that is information forassociating the first printing apparatus registered in the first serversystem with a second printing apparatus in which second information isregistered, the second information being information related to a secondserver system different from the first server system and different fromthe management server system, wherein a print job output from aninformation processing apparatus having received a print instructionfrom the user is transmitted to the first printing apparatus via thefirst server system and the second server system, based on the thirdinformation.